#AprilTTRPGMaker Days 14, 15, 16, and 17

I would like to turn a profit on Threadbare. I’m honestly having some cashflow issues with getting it out. Nothing I can’t manage, but it makes the process a little tricky.

Day 15: Do you design in public or private?

Both? I’m a very public person, and have a fairly open circle in Google+ for playtesting. I post a lot on my blog where I muse about game design and decisions I’m making about various games.

Day 16: Design Partners?

That would be my best friend and partner, Toby Strauss. You will see his name crop up in collaborations with me in many places. Someday, we’ll probably have to form some kind of partnership corporation to handle our creative works together. To date, we’ve published a larp, a comic book, and have co-authored a game that’s in layout right now. He’s contributed to Threadbare, and I know I’ll be contributing to his next project, too. We’re collaborating on a PbtA game about office politics as well. We tend to throw our ideas around at each other quite a bit, and then note them in our various notebooks and google docs until we’re ready to flesh them out.

I love achievements, so any time I win something for my work, it’s a big rush. Winning the 200-word RPG contest was a huge motivator. Getting a Champion ribbon on a knitted shawl at the county fair provoked me into entering again this year. Money is great, but the amount I make from writing games is unlikely to match what I make at my day job. But accolades? Having someone semi-objectively judge my work and find it worthy? Yum!